The Monkey’s Paw Trilogy by Ralph Lagana

“If you loved the Monkey's Paw, you will love this trilogy. Mr. Lagana did an awesome job of continuing the saga of the paw...be careful what you wish for!!” ~Nutmeg Mom

“…Bottom line: it's a good addition to The Monkey's Paw. In fact, I had a hard time separating the new stories from the original. I can't think of a better compliment. There are some great twists to the story too. Worth the time and money.” ~Landon Reed

“…I enjoyed the smaller story, but found the longer one difficult to get into. I understand and appreciate the sentiment: to expand a classic short story, by telling a side story, but neither of the two stories live up to the strength of the original (the shorter one makes a valiant effort, though). Honestly, I'm not even sure Stephen King would try and tackle such a project. It's immediately obvious and greatly appreciated by this reader that the author spent a lot of time researching W.W. Jacob's writing style and the time period that the other two stories covers. I'm torn on this one.” ~Todd Russell

"...The imagery is also very well done and brings the reader directly into the scene. This book made me feel for the characters and I was sad to see it end...."  ~Vanessa

(full review)

The Monkey’s Paw by W. W. Jacobs with additions by Ralph Lagana

“I read this in college. I loved it then, and still love it today. I liked what the author added to this story.” ~JAB

“…There is a reason this story has hung around for so long. It's simple. It's brief and it's entertaining. The Monkey's Paw is commonly taught in school and is a great way for students to cut their teeth on the short story form. This reworked addition reads very close to the original. This reader, at least, didn't notice any of the new writing intruding on Jacobs's work, and that's a good thing….” ~Landon Reed

The Monkey’s Tale by Ralph Lagana

“…I really liked the original (no, I'm not 100 years old), but this book was pretty amazing. Hope more people read it!!” ~Nutmeg Mom

“Better than the original? I think so. I realize such a claim is hard to make against anything deemed a classic, but it could be the case here. Like the Godfather II to the original Godfather movie, this short story reads and feels the same as the "The Monkey's Paw, even though the two tales are almost 100 years apart. "The Monkey's Tale" also has more than a few pleasant, and entirely unexpected, surprises. The measure of a good story or a good movie is that you don't want it to end; or when it does end, you wish for more. I felt that way after reading this companion story to The Monkey's Paw." ~Landon Reed

The Monkey’s Claw by Ralph Lagana

“I really enjoyed Richard Matheson's I AM LEGEND story when I first read it several years ago and this story sort of reminded me of that experience. The Claw has nothing to do with vampires but there's a darkness to the story that is similar. I also found myself thinking about the story days after finishing it. The main character, Miles, is developed well and there's a nice parallel story which follows with the main one. Some of the best parts happen during the main character's childhood. The only bummer to this is that you don't get the story epilogue or prologue in this version. Still, it's worth reading.” ~Landon Reed